The question assumes that people are still reading books in our century, instead of watching movies, playing video-games, or practising sports. Indeed, a percentage of the population still enjoys reading. Those are the only ones who purchase books.
Thus, the question is wrongly formulated. Instead of asking why read Seneca today, I should have asked why read Seneca’s books instead of books by other authors.
My answer entails two aspects. First, that Seneca is giving a detailed, practical exposition of the Stoic philosophy, which can prove very beneficial to our life. Second, because Seneca wisely avoided mistakes made by other Stoics philosophers.
Let me explain these two aspects by means of an example. I am going to compare Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) with Aulus Persius Flaccus (34-62 AD), a Stoic poet, to illustrate the uniqueness of Seneca’s exposition of Stoicism.
In contrast to Persius and the other Stoics engaging in social criticism, Seneca regarded philosophy as an individual recipe. He wanted to provide a formula for happiness for himself and his readers, irrespective of the overall status of society.
Seneca compared to Aulus Persius Flaccus
Seneca was conscious of his unique perspective in this area. He wrote extensively, but never bothered to give prescriptions for a perfect world. He knew that individuals will always have to face challenges, and wanted to develop a solid philosophy to cope with those.
Persius held a different view, one shared by many Stoics in Ancient Rome. He took upon himself the task of criticising the severe problems of society, but declared himself incapable of solving them. As a result, he fell into passivity and resignation.
Seneca’s philosophy is proactive and prompts us to develop good intellectual and physical habits. The purpose of his ideas is to heal spiritual wounds and strengthen the mind.
Why does he not waste time criticising specific problems? Because there are too many, and they are changing all the time. In contrast, Persius devoted years to writing satires that attack the hypocrisy, corruption and malfeasance in Ancient Rome.
Persius had drawn his philosophical insights from Lucius Annaeus Cornutus, another adept of Stoicism. Unfortunately, those insights had been tainted with passivity and resignation.
Seneca compared to Lucius Annaeus Cornutus
Cornutus had acknowledged the existence of corruption and malfeasance, but had come up with a convoluted explanation. In his “Compendium of Greek Theology,” Cornutus had argued that the behaviour of Greek deities seems erratic at first sight, but actually proves that the universe is governed by rationality.
Thus, we should not feel angry or discouraged when things don’t go our way because there may be hidden benefits behind our personal problems. Cornutus had formulated views that the German philosopher Leibniz (1646-1716) would later refine in his “Theodicy,” published in 1710.
Persius discarded Cornutus’ hidden-rationality argument and focused instead on social criticism. Cornutus had studied the Greek deities and declared their personality quirks a mystery. Persius had reviewed actual crimes and misdemeanours, and declared them repulsive.
Seneca adopted the opposite approach. Instead of criticising the state of the world, he took problems for granted. Instead of trying to understand other people’s poor behaviour, he focused on improving his own.
In his 48th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca emphasises the virtues of moderation and self-discipline. In doing so, he is prescribing those virtues to himself, not to solve the world’s problems, but to secure his own personal happiness.
In contrast to Persius’ satires, Seneca uses anecdotes mostly to illustrate exemplary behaviour or as cautionary tales. Every story is meant to have a practical philosophical effect.
Seneca’s focus on beneficial habits
Seneca is encouraging us to improve our habits. If the world in general or our neighbours in particular draw benefits from our virtue, we should regard those benefits as collateral, not as the principal purpose of philosophy.
For instance, when Seneca is mentioning the Roman general Fabius Maximus (280-203 BC), he wants to exhort readers to adopt Maximus’ simple, moderate lifestyle for their benefit.
Similarly, when Seneca mentions the Greek philosopher Crates of Thebes (365-285 BC), he is encouraging us to adopt a modest, inexpensive lifestyle that will enhance our freedom and independence.
Seneca deserves to be read today because he is providing practical recommendations that are hard to find elsewhere. Let us heed Seneca’s advice, which incorporates the best lessons from Socrates (470-399 BC), Julius Caesar (100-44 BC), and other great personalities from Ancient Greece and Rome.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all areas of life, I recommend you my book “Rational living, rational working.”